PV - Tues, 29 Jan 2013

The Mexican navy going by. I think I'm soon going to have to get out of the lounge chair!

We have Muffin Man in the morning and Cookie Man in the afternoon.

We just returned from 'Canada Night' at the restaurant here. There are so many people who have been coming here for years and they try to have one dinner together during their winter stay. We saw people we recognized from previous trips and had some time to catch up on their news as well as meet lots of new people. There were about 60 people and we had a great time. These kinds of gatherings are an opportunity to find out where the best restaurants are, what new tours are available, and find out some local news.

My friend Joyce spent the afternoon here yesterday. We had gotten together for lunch the week before we left and didn't expect to see one another until some time after we got home. They are getting ready for a 10-day Panama cruise but decided on a last minute trip and ended up in Puerto Vallarta. The world seems to get smaller and smaller. We went downtown and ended up at (one of) my favourite shoe stores. Man, it never fails to amaze me how many different styles of shoes one store can carry and it's tough to find a pair of women's shoes over $20. They are all made in Mexico...I refuse to think about working conditions or the average age of the factory worker...but I came home with 4 pairs of sandals, under $40. I force myself to buy one pair of 'bedazzler' shoes as I remember being in Sears looking at a crap shoes for Xmas, paying $50+ for them and kicking myself for not buying them the previous winter here. Joyce and I had a nice lunch at the restaurant and then sat by the pool drinking fancy/slushy drinks. It was a great day.

Wayne is down with another cold...or a heavy duty dose of allergies...and hasn't moved too far from the bed for the past couple of days. We're doing the 'Clorox wipe' and mega-hand washing routine yet again and hoping it passes quickly...and I don't get it. I can remember years passing at a time and he wouldn't even have a stiffle. This year it's been one cold after another.

I went down to the beach to watch the sunset last night and the dolphins went by just as it went down. This is just an idealic spot. We've had so many conversations with people about the violence in Mexico and how safe we feel in this location.  It's more than just the location for me...I think we respect our limitations here and it just happens to fit our normal lifestyle. Certainly the border areas of Mexico is just crazy violent but most of us old folks who don't stay up late partying downtown and don't wander in places where our guts tell us we shouldn't be, we are as safe here as anywhere. Most of the local Mexicans are kind and generous and I know that if we spent 3 months here every year, I would know a lot more Spanish than I do...they all want to help us learn new words and phrases.

Gail and Graham arrive Friday and I'm certain in the next few weeks we'll be downtown a bit more and seeing things. We have been quite happy to sit and soak up the sun the past two weeks and wanted to wait until they arrived to do any tours or trips. There is a new tour to an old Mexican town called San Sabastian that we go to with lots of photo ops and history.

That's what we (haven't been) doing and loving every second of it. Hope all is well at home. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

PV - Sat, 26 Jan 2013

Enrica..aka 'Muffin Man'. Always 4 different flavours..he's been walking the beach for years.

Waves were ginormous today (this is a small one). One wave pulled one of those big boulders down.

I realized today that we have been here 12 days and other than a few trips to the grocery store and hair cut, we have not been off the resort grounds! We don't seem to have any problem spending most of our days by the pool, looking out at the water and just generally chilling.

Tomorrow we'll go down to Freddy Toucan's for breakfast and then wander around a bit. On Sunday the band plays in the town square and all the older people dress up in the finery for church and then come over to the square to socialize and dance. I love to watch them..they are all ages and some of them can really move. It gets pretty crowded and a few of the tourists join in to dance with them...a great way to spend part of a Sunday. It's also the day that families get dressed up and walk the Malacon...the little girls wear big, frilly dresses and lots of ribbons in their hair...so cute.

We were at the pool before 9 am today and nobody else was around. I expect it will be a bit busier in February but it sure isn't crowded right now. The resort is quite big and with 7 pools there is always room to find a quiet spot to spend the day reading, swimming, and people watching.

When we first started coming here, seeing the whales in the bay was so thrilling...we just couldn't believe it was possible to stand on the shore and see one. It's still a major thrill but after a 5 visits here, we now expect to see them and we are never disappointed. If we ever wonder where one might be a any time, we just look to see where 3 or 4 boats have congregated and there it is! I was watching the area through the binoculars today and a whale came up out of the water, breeching half of it's body. We'll go on a whale watching tour once Gail and Graham get here.

There was a full moon last night and the tide was mega high..came right up the beach to the sea wall. There are two large man-made water breaks at each end of our beach and the waves were smashing against them and coming up over top. Swimming in the ocean (at our beach) is not for the faint of heart. Unless the water is extremely calm, the undertow is extreme and I wouldn't even attempt to try it. We will sometimes walk down 2 or 3 resorts along the beach and swim there but I'm quite happy with our pools.

That was our day. It was warm and wonderful..as most of them are here. Hope everyone is surviving the cold at home. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

PV - Friday, 25 Jan 2013

I have a new love in my life His name is Francisco, he's dark and mysterious, and he can make a pair of scissors do magical things!!

I couldn't stand the sight of myself one minute longer so headed over to the shopping centre Fri morning to get someone...anyone...to cut about 1/2 " off the friz on top of my head. I've been blessed with my Mother's full-bodied, thick hair and I give thanks every day for it but as soon as it gets just that wee bit too long, it stops doing what I want it to do and does what it wants to do!

There are about 6 hair salons in the shopping centre and they range from modern and gorgeous to hole-in-the-wall disgusting. I was in the mall before 10 am so had to wander and it gave me a chance to decide which one I'd try. What I forgot was that the 10 am opening time is just a 'suggestion'. In Mexico it could depend on whether the owners had a previous late night, upset stomach, or just needed a sleep-in. By 10:30, only one salon was open...a mid-range looking business...and I decided  to try it. Wayne always says "There only a 4-day difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut" (God Danny, I'm sorry I actually wrote that) and I went in.

I could drag this out with everything he did, said, didn't do, etc. but the end result is what counts and his card is now in my Puerto Vallarta file for future reference. What floored me was that the bill came to 140 pesos (about $12.00). Seriously? I'm so used to shelling in 3x that for a trim at home that I gave him a very nice tip...he'll remember me when I go back in a few weeks!

Last night was 'rib' night at the restaurant and it's very popular with the guests here. Fortunately, we went right at 6 pm and by the time we left, the place was full and there was a line-up. Note to self: next week share an order! We are having leftover ribs for supper tonight...man, are they delicious.

Wayne is off to the gym this morning and once he gets back it will be time to haul some laundry over to the shopping centre where a nice lady does it and you pay by the pound. It's very convenient and we usually take the time to so a bit of grocery shopping so kill 2 birds with one stone. He bought a cheaper version of a shopping bag on wheels which makes the trips back and forth with stuff so much more manageable.

We are going to see the rental agents at Los Tules and Royal (we are with Ambassador Suites) and have a look at what's available to rent through them and the rental costs for a 1 or 2 bdrm unit. The Mexican owners rent through them and some of the units are beautiful.

There's a big 'North American' party at the restaurant on Tues night. It's like a condo unit in Florida here...so many people have been coming for years that they all know one another. Unlike a lot of other places, the 'regulars' are very anxious to know new people and in the time we've been here we've met some lovely people. Yes, I could become a regular here but there are so many other places I want to see that I think I'll be happy doing PV every 3 or 4 years.

PV - Thurs, 3 Jan 2013

One coconut 5 minutes off the tree.

Less coconut meat than one would expect from this biggie.

I woke up this morning to the sound--and smell of the mosquitoe/bug fogger going full blast. The guy wears a heavy duty mask...what about the rest of us?

It brought back a memory that made me smile, and grimmace! When we were kids living in married quarters (PMQs) in Edmonton, spring was the time for spraying for mosquitoes. A truck would drive through the PMQs pulling a wagon with a huge tank of repellant. A motor on the tank created this huge fog that drifted all through the area. God only knows what it was...DDT?...but as the truck slowly drove down the street, all the kids would drive behind it on their bikes, breathing in that stuff. Nobody stopped us or told us it might not be good for us. We only stopped when the truck went off our street and we knew we weren't allowed to take our bikes any further. Hmmm...probably explains a lot of things.

It was cloudy again today but nice and warm and we watched the coconut harvesting for a while. Wayne bought one from the guys for 20 pesos ($1.60) and they cracked it open for him. I've only eaten the processed hard coconut in those little brown ones we get at home but it's not what comes down from the tree! The large 'raw' green ones 5 minutes from the tree are filled with about 2 cups of clear liquid. It's mildly sweet...kind of bland really...but supposedly healthy. The surprise for me was that the coconut is very soft--sort of reminded me of the consistency of fish fillets once we scooped it out--and again, mildly sweet but nothing like the final coconut we eat.

We decided to take our air mattresses down by the sea wall and see if there were any whales. Sure enough, we saw a couple of them (you just have to find the various whale watching boats and the whales are close by). We'll wait for Gail and Graham to come and go out--even if we don't see whales (which would be unusual) it's a nice afternoon out on the bay. The boats are very careful not to crowd the whales and most of them have a biologist on board to make sure they aren't harassed. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for f'n people renting ski jets. We counted 8 of them speeding near the area the whales were surfacing. There are no water police patrols and I doubt that the ski jet rental people are too concerned about whether or not their patrons take the calving whales into consideration.

The sun came out in full force around 4 pm but it was a very pleasant day regardless. Tomorrow is going to be haircut day for me...sorry Danny...but it's just that 1/4 inch too long that makes it a frizzy mess despite gel, spray, or anything else. I only get it trimmed and judging from past experience, a hairdresser is a hairdresser is a hairdresser. Besides, it grows fast.

PV - Tues, 22 Jan 2013

It's early morning...well, 09:30 am...and I'm getting ready to find the 'lounge chair of the day'.

The sun doesn't come fully up here until about 7:45 but there's lots of activity around the resort. The little restaurant opens at 8 am and the boys are here setting up tables and making coffee. There's never a big rush for breakfast...there's never a big rush for anything here...but there is a steady group of people all day. Now that there is Wifi throughout the resort, there are always people sitting there with iPads or computers, checking their email, either with coffee or a drink, depending on the time of day.

Los Tules was the original site of a coconut plantation many years ago and even after the resort was built, there are some impressive palm trees. I'm not sure when coconuts are ready for harvesting, but there seems to be a routine whereby a group of guys come in to clean up branches and harvest the coconuts. It's a process that I never get tired of watching as the guy who goes up the tree does so with nothing but a loop around his waist and a length of rope tied between his feet. I watched him scurry up a tree this morning...about 60 ft high...in less than 10 seconds. He loops a piece of rope around a bunch of coconuts, makes one or two swipes with a machete and then lowers them to the ground. This clean-up is also needed for the safety of guests as one of those things could do some serious damage falling that distance. I nearly had a heart attack last night when one came down not far from where I was standing in the dark.

What amazes me is that everything is done by manual labour. Mexico simply doesn't have the financial conviences for all those mini-machines that we routinely use at home...but it sure has the manual labour. While the one guy up the tree cuts down coconuts and huge palm branches, the boys below use wheel barrows to load the coconuts and haul them away. Another couple of boys pile about 10 palm branches on top of one another so that they fit together, lift them onto their backs and drag them to a truck.

There's a small army of gardener's on the site to maintain the beautiful grounds of Los Tules. While we would employ one person driving a big sweeper to go up and down the many paths, Mexico has many people with brooms, rakes, and wheelbarrows. The housemaids start arriving around 8 am with buckets and mops...no housekeeping carts here...and start cleaning the patios and outside walkways until the old folks are out of bed. I'm one of those people who cleans before the maid comes in so she won't think we are pigs (???) so our girls has it easier than some. Yesterday she had to tear apart my made bed to change the sheets.

I'm really ticked with blogger for not having fixed their photo attachment issue! I'm going to vent on the user forum along with a few hundred other people...really, this is 2013!

PV - Monday, 21 Jan 2013

Where the heck did the last 7 days go?? Times goes as fast...sitting on your duff all day reading...as it does at home...sitting on your duff all day reading. There is a tan line though and the two books I thought would last me for a least half the time we were here...are history.

We went down to the shopping centre this morning. I had decided I would pack light to come here but realize after 7 days that maybe I packed 14 t-shirts for each pair of shorts, hence no clean shorts left but lots and lots of t-shirts. The Gallerie Vallarta is gorgeous from the outside but not much of substance on the inside. Like most of the stores here, there is not much stock. The 'winter' stuff is all on sale but the summer stuff, such as shorts, don't seem to be in stock yet. I'll stay in my dirty shorts for another couple of weeks.

I've taken some photos but Blogger is having a problem of some sort and won't allow photos to be attached. I think I'll add a spot for photos at www.lynnecorkum.ca and put them there in the interim.

We are having a problem with microscopic ants! They are so tiny and there are so many that I'm ready to ask for a change of rooms. I accept that ants are probably part of the package when we are here and don't mind a few but this a bit beyond! We have sprayed non-stop today and will wait for another day or two to see if it makes any difference. We are in an end unit with 2 patio doors, surrounded by greenery so that doesn't help I guess. In the meantime everything is in the fridge.

The weather has been good although it has been cloudy in the morning and I found it a bit humid today. January seems to be the month where the weather can be weird. The last time we were here in Feb some of the regulars said January had been awful. I don't seem to have much problem as I don't come up for air before 10 am anyway.

Today is our Beanie girl's birthday and we are missing her. Our grandkids are the light of our lives and we are so lucky they are all healthy and happy.

That's it for today. We still haven't been downtown--I'm still loving the feeling of just laying around by the pool. Maybe we'll get down this week. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

PV - 19 Jan 2013

I have been an absolute slug since we arrived. Other than our first day of frenzy shopping to fill the fridge I haven't done anything or gone anywhere...and there's no guilt involved. We've got lots of time although I'm sure the last week here we'll be rushing around trying to do all the things we had wanted to do in the previous 7 weeks and didn't.

It's usually a bit cloudy in the morning but by 11 am, the sun comes out and my rear end in firmly ensconsed in a lounge chair by the pool. I'm happy to report that as of today I have a definite tan line!! It doesn't take long here although it seems to fade just as quickly once we get home.

Today was the check-out/check-in day so lots of people seemed to be hauling luggage out and a few hours later, there were new people dragging luggage in. Many of those coming in are 'regulars' who have been coming here for many years and all know one another and anxious to resume their winter friendships. We've met a few people...the woman above us is from Toronto and very nice.

We were pleased to see our friend Ruben still works here. Our first year here we gave him our little television and DVD player from the van (LuvMachine) and he brought his wife and 3 daughters around to thank us. He now has 4 daughters and is still as nice as ever and working for both the Los Tules resort and Ambassador Suites Hotel (within Los Tules where we stay)..such a hard worker.

Wayne has gone to the gym every day so if Al Carl thinks a chunky, lazy guy is coming home, he's mistaken! I suspect once Al retires he and Wayne will have a daytime gym schedule vice the evening schedule they have now to accommodate Al's job. Wayne's cough is finally getting better so all that natural Vitamin C & D is working just fine.

I've still be lazy about photo taking but tomorrow I'll do some wandering and take some photos.

Until next time, hugs and kisses to all...especially my sweet Gillian who is 3 yrs old! Happy Birthday Beanie girl....xxx

Puerto Vallarta - 17 Jan 2013

We've been getting our 'suntan' on despite some clouds, but the sun shines through periodically and it's not at all unpleasant. It's amazing how quickly we forget that you can still get a burn when it's cloudy. I sat out for a couple of hours reading and watching the waves, and have a nice red face to show for it! Really, is it possible to teach an old dog new tricks?

We took the crazy bus to Walmart yesterday. For 52 cents, the ride is an exercise in agility as the driver can make change, hand out receipts, shift gears, and negotiate traffic at breakneck speed--before you get a can get to an empty seat. They are old school buses that have long since seen better days. The gears grind and the brakes squeal and they can be decorated (or not) in whatever way the driver sees fit. Some are painted in bright colours, others just blue and white, which seems to be the 'official' transportation colours. Some have a fringe (you are 'old' if you remember the fringe being called 'angel balls' and Wayner had them hanging in his old '56 Ford) and lots of religious photos...there doesn't seem to be too many rules regarding the decoration.

We fried steak for supper last night and it was no mean feat to figure out how to work the damn stove. Our kitchen facilities are not as good as in previous studio apts we've had but more than adequate and we had an excellent supper with fried mushrooms and potatoes to go with the steak.

Today (Thursday) Wayne got up early and headed for the gym. When he got back we went over to the little restaurant for breakfast and were entertained by some show-off guy doing non-stop laps in the pool (the restaurant tables sit around part of the pool). I was exhausted just watching him and he was still going strong when we left.

We had our best laugh of the day while breakfast was being served. Everyone who knows us has heard me yapping at Wayne about his reluctance to wear hearing aids and his many reasons for not doing so. The waiter came over with Wayne's bacon and as he set it down he said to Wayne..in his nice Spanish accent....'Very Crispy!'. Wayne didn't miss a beat...he looked up at him, smiled, and said 'Happy New Year!' OMG...I thought I'd wet myself laughing!!! We really should be keeping track of all these things as I'm sure we could make some great television commercials for the hearing aid companies. Once Gail and Graham arrive it will be never ending as Graham's hearing is worse than Wayne's and no, he doesn't wear his hearing aids either.

Our patio outside is filled, and surrounded, by different types of flowering bushes. There is a beautiful little hummingbird that makes a visit every hour or so and this afternoon I could have reached out and touched it. I'm guessing that it must be used to seeing people and isn't at all unnerved by such close proximity. My goal is to sit with my camera and see how clear a photo I can get of it.

I'm still being quite lazy so we haven't gone downtown yet. There's no rush..we are here for 8 weeks and all those shoe and jewellery shops won't go away. My friend Joyce is coming for a week with her hubby and son so we are hoping to get together while she is here. It's amazing that we can have lunch in Ottawa last week and an unscheduled trip means we can have lunch together in Puerto Vallarta next week. It's a small world for sure!

Hopefully I will have some photos to include with the blog tomorrow. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Puerta Vallarta - Arrival - 14 Jan 2013

It's a good thing Puerto Vallarta (PV) is an exceptionally wonderful place to vacation because sometimes the 'getting here' sucks!

We were scheduled to leave at 6:40 am on American Airlines so did the 'up at 3 am, taxi at 4:15 am, get through security, etc' only to discover at check-in that our flight had been cancelled--along with numerous other flights down the eastern seaboard. The good news was that the ticket agent came out from the back and managed to get us on another flight going to PV through Calgary. The bad news was that we had a 5-hr layover in Calgary. Well, we're up, we're somewhat awake, and very anxious to get going so took the alternate.

It was all uneventful, but needless to say, by the time we arrived in PV at 9:30 pm my rear end had no feeling at all and my neck hurt from doing the 'bob thing' trying to get any sleep. The good news was that we did not see one flake of snow, our room was ready at Los Tulas and the restaurant even stayed open for a few minutes extra to make us a beautiful salmon dinner.

We were tired beyond thinking and I'm sure we didn't watch more than two minutes of television before we were asleep. The beds are mondo hard in Mexico and I know I woke up once through the night wondering if I'd fallen asleep on the ceramic floor! We usually make a trip to Walmart to get a double waffle pad for the bed, which we will probably do tomorrow.

Tues - 15 Jan

We woke up to cloudy skies but the sun has been trying to peek through. Frankly, it can rain like hell as I expect to be napping this afternoon. I'm sure it will take a day or two for us to climatize ourselves and catch up on some sleep.

I've decided I'm too old for this non-stop flying business and unless I'm going somewhere really exotic, no more 3 am's for me! I confirmed with Wayne that we are retired, and really don't have to do this. However, I'm still a bit crusty for doing that redeye from Las Vegas before Xmas...clearly I wasn't thinking about the effect on body at that time either!

Los Tulas is as wonderful as it was when we first came here. Many of the units that the Ambassador Suites uses in the complex have been sold and I won't be surpried to hear that the hotel no longer exists at some point soon. We knew the units were being sold when we were here 2 yrs ago so it's just a matter of time.

We went over to our little restaurant for breakfast...the coffee rivals Timmie's...and then made the first of many trips over to the grocery store for stuff. We just got some of the essentials...tea, coffee, bread, etc....and will go over later for a few more things. When you are used to wheeling a cart out to your car and just having to carry bags into the house, you tend to forget how much those 'few' items weigh when carrying for quite a way back to the hotel. It's only a 5-minute walk so we'll go a couple of times a day until we have the larder stocked. I've already scoped out one shoe store...OMG...the gorgeous sandals!!! I only brought one pair with me, in a half-empty suitcase so I'm prepared to have a whole new wardrobe of glitz and glamour on my feet this summer. Gillian will be happy...she appreciates Honey's shoes.

Wayne has gone off to Gold's Gym to work out. He figures he'll go Tues & Thurs and walk the beach the rest of the time for exercise. God bless him....as long as he doesn't wake me up when he gets back we'll both be happy! lol 

Tomorrow we'll take the crazy bus to Walmart for odds and ends. We always seem to buy a few wine glasses (essentials) and if we are in this apt for 8 wks I have no problem getting some extra things to make our lives more comfortable like placemats or salt & pepper shakers.

That's our day so far. The locals are complaining about the weather and wearing jackets. Like the rest of the tourists, we are in shorts and flip flops and enjoying bootless attire. Hope everyone is recuperating at home...if we could send you some natural vitamin C we would. Until tomorrow, love and hugs to all.